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Excel COUNT vs COUNTA practice

Ten people signed up for a workshop. Column B shows what each person paid; Fay's place is free. In E2, count everyone who signed up. In E3, count the people who have paid. In E4, count the people who still have to pay.

COUNTA counts every cell that isn't empty. COUNT counts only cells with numbers. COUNTBLANK counts the empty ones.

04 Count what's there COUNT, COUNTA, COUNTBLANK Starter

signups.xlsx
Ready

Click a cell while typing to insert it, drag to select a range, F4 adds $, Esc cancels.

Tap a cell while writing a formula to insert it, or slide across cells for a range. The strip above the keyboard has = ( ) : , $.

The COUNT, COUNTA, COUNTBLANK guide

COUNTA counts every cell that isn't empty, COUNT counts only cells with numbers, and COUNTBLANK counts the empty ones. Pick the wrong one and the count is off without any error.

StarterAbout 3 minutesBy Updated

Three ways to count

FunctionCountsUse it for
COUNTnumbers (and dates)amounts, scores, anything numeric
COUNTAanything that isn't emptynames, IDs, rows in a list
COUNTBLANKempty cellswhat's still missing

Why COUNT returns 0

Names are text, and COUNT skips text. =COUNT(A2:A11) on a column of names is 0. Use =COUNTA(A2:A11) to count the rows.

A word in a number column

Real lists have notes in them: "Free", "n/a", "TBC". COUNTA counts those as filled, COUNT doesn't count them as numbers. In the challenge, Fay's place is free: she isn't one of the people who paid, and she doesn't owe anything either. So "signed up minus paid" overcounts what's still owed, and COUNTBLANK gets it right.

Numbers stored as text

If COUNT is lower than the number of amounts you can see, some of them are probably text. See numbers stored as text.

Common mistakes

FAQ

What is the difference between COUNT and COUNTA?
COUNT counts only cells that contain numbers. COUNTA counts every cell that isn't empty, including text.
Why does COUNT return 0 in Excel?
The range contains text, such as names, and COUNT only counts numbers. Use COUNTA instead.
How do I count empty cells in Excel?
Use =COUNTBLANK(range). It counts cells that are completely empty.
How do I count cells with a specific value?
Use COUNTIF, for example =COUNTIF(B2:B11,25) or =COUNTIF(C2:C11,"Shipped").

This task is in the timed office and admin and basic Excel practice tests. What Excel interview tests check

All challenges

  1. 01Starter, 3 min Add it upSUM
  2. 02Starter, 3 min Find the averageAVERAGE
  3. 03Starter, 3 min Smallest and largestMIN, MAX
  4. 04Starter, 3 min Count what's thereCOUNT, COUNTA, COUNTBLANK
  5. 05Starter, 3 min Write once, fill downRelative references
  6. 06Core, 3 min Lock it with $Absolute references
  7. 07Starter, 3 min Percent of a totalPercentages
  8. 08Starter, 3 min Make the numbers readableNumber formats
  9. 09Core, 3 min Up or down by how much?Percent change
  10. 10Core, 3 min What you see vs what's storedROUND
  11. 11Core, 3 min The typical valueMEDIAN
  12. 12Core, 3 min Select to the end in one moveCtrl + Shift + arrow
  13. 13Starter, 3 min Sort without breaking rowsSort
  14. 14Starter, 3 min Filter to what mattersFilter
  15. 15Starter, 3 min Copy and paste a formulaCtrl+C, Ctrl+V
  16. 16Core, 3 min Paste values onlyPaste Special → Values
  17. 17Core, 3 min Highlight what's over targetConditional formatting
  18. 18Core, 3 min Spot the duplicatesDuplicate Values rule
  19. 19Core, 3 min Pass or fail?IF
  20. 20Core, 3 min Both or either?AND, OR
  21. 21Core, 3 min Exactly one of the twoXOR
  22. 22Core, 3 min Grade bands with nested IFNested IF
  23. 23Core, 3 min Count the ones that matchCOUNTIF
  24. 24Core, 3 min Add up the ones that matchSUMIF
  25. 25Core, 3 min Use a cell as the conditionCriteria in a cell
  26. 26Core, 3 min Partial matches with * and ?SUMIF, COUNTIF with wildcards
  27. 27Core, 3 min Count with two conditionsCOUNTIFS
  28. 28Core, 3 min Add up with two conditionsSUMIFS
  29. 29Core, 3 min Look it upVLOOKUP
  30. 30Core, 3 min Find the right bracketVLOOKUP approximate match
  31. 31Core, 3 min XLOOKUP, the modern wayXLOOKUP
  32. 32Core, 3 min Where is it in the list?MATCH
  33. 33Advanced, 3 min INDEX and MATCH togetherINDEX + MATCH
  34. 34Advanced, 3 min Lock just the row or the columnMixed references
  35. 35Advanced, 3 min Growth per year (CAGR)CAGR with ^
  36. 36Core, 3 min Use a rate from another sheetReferences to other sheets
  37. 37Core, 3 min Catch the error, not the bugIFERROR
  38. 38Core, 3 min Which invoices are missing?Compare two lists
  39. 39Core, 3 min Reconcile the ledger with the bankXLOOKUP or VLOOKUP + IFNA
  40. 40Core, 3 min Join text together&, CONCAT, PROPER
  41. 41Core, 3 min Split first and last namesLEFT, MID + FIND
  42. 42Core, 3 min Stray spaces that break a countTRIM
  43. 43Core, 3 min Flag the bad entriesTRIM, LEN, EXACT
  44. 44Advanced, 3 min Clean a bank descriptionTEXTBEFORE, TEXTAFTER, PROPER
  45. 45Core, 3 min Mistake hunt: #N/A everywhereFixing #N/A
  46. 46Core, 3 min Mistake hunt: hard-coded numbersReferences instead of typed numbers
  47. 47Core, 3 min Mistake hunt: numbers stored as textNumbers stored as text
  48. 48Core, 3 min One of each, then the totalsUNIQUE
  49. 49Core, 3 min Your first pivot tablePivot tables
  50. 50Advanced, 3 min Which category went up most?SUMIFS, change, lookup
  51. 51Core, 3 min How many days late?Date arithmetic
  52. 52Core, 3 min Turn text into real datesDATEVALUE
  53. 53Advanced, 3 min Month ends and working daysEOMONTH, NETWORKDAYS
  54. 54Core, 3 min Renewal datesEDATE
  55. 55Core, 3 min Days overdue and aging bandsDate difference, aging bands
  56. 56Core, 3 min How many late orders?Pick the tool
  57. 57Core, 3 min Sales per repPick the tool
  58. 58Core, 3 min Whose part is it?Pick the tool
  59. 59Core, 3 min Who gets the bonus?Pick the tool
  60. 60Core, 3 min Each region's sharePick the tool
  61. 61Advanced, 3 min Case: the supplier reportCase, five steps
  62. 62Advanced, 3 min Case: the monthly budgetCase, five steps
  63. 63Advanced, 3 min Case: the reorder listCase, five steps

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